


An Unlikely Situation Where Heritage Counts (or, Tony has no clue what he was getting into)

by Misaki_kaito



Category: Avengers, Marvel, The Avengers - All Fandoms, Thor - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-04-30
Updated: 2013-08-28
Packaged: 2017-11-04 15:09:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/395219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misaki_kaito/pseuds/Misaki_kaito
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maria and Howard Stark weren't exactly human, and the Asgardians and the Avengers are in for a surprise. Understandably, Tony is not pleased.</p><p>Blame Hella for this! Her Tumblr started this mad, crazy idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Which Tony Is In a Little Accident

He was in whatever they called their hospital, because of some idiot’s stupid antics; Thor had invited the Avengers to join him for his birthday celebrations in Asgard, and well, who were the Avengers to refuse him? And it was fun, right up until one of the gifts created one giant bang, with the Avengers stuck in the middle. Steve and Tony were the closest to the blast, along with Thor, but Steve got his shield up, and was able to shield himself and the people next to him from the blast. Thor didn’t get as damaged for some reason, but Tony got hit, badly. All he remembered, though, was a big bang, a bright light, and a burning sensation across his arms and his face. 

But let’s start from the beginning, where everything went really crazy. 

Their stay in Asgard was only supposed to last for three days- they were needed back on Earth, and that was about as long as any of them could stay without, you know, losing a company or some upstart villain trying to take over the world without them around. 

As they exited the Bifrost, Tony looked around in barely concealed wonder at the realm of Asgard, home of the Norse Gods. The realm was full of towering, gleaming spires that did not look a thing like buildings from Midgard. They defied any laws gravity and physics that Tony knew, and boggled his mind on how they were created. 

They were shown to their respective rooms, and Tony couldn’t help but whistle appreciatively at the luxurious quality of his rooms. His room even had an adjoining bathroom, and Tony was so very, very happy to see indoor plumbing. 

They feasted and partied for the first day and for most of the second before it was time for Thor to open his gifts; Tony hadn’t partied so hard since he was in his twenties, but he didn’t feel worn or tired at all. In fact, he felt the most alive since he arrived in Asgard; he only felt this alive when he created JARVIS and when he built the armor and when he joined the Avengers. But even then, there was always a sense of weariness and low level exhaustion plaguing him that made him feel sluggish and useless; only large quantities of caffeine could cure him of it, but the caffeine lead to insomnia which lead to more exhaustion, and it was a vicious cycle that made Tony surprised he wasn’t dead yet. 

The entire family gathered around Thor as the gifts were opened, and Thor had a very, very big pile of them to open. There were special ones from the races of the other nine realms; the elves gave him a tapestry that shimmered with embroidery, made of the rarest silk of their land. It depicted Thor’s adventures of Earth with the Avengers. The dwarves gave him new armor that gleamed in the torchlight, and each gift was more spectacular than the last. When came upon the Avenger’s gift to Thor, he eagerly ripped the wrapping paper to reveal Pop tarts. Thor grinned in delight at his favorite Midgardian food, and said, 

“I shall share thy gift with all of my guests!” Volstagg looked at the little box, and looked around at the multitudes gathered for the feast. 

“Perhaps you should keep the fine gift for yourself,” ventured the Asgardian who couldn’t help but think, ‘It is impossible to feed all of us with just that.’ 

Tony grinned widely and said, 

“Don’t worry, Volstagg! We brought enough to share.” Jan flitted around, unshrinking the massive pile of Poptart boxes that nearly touched the ceiling. The Asgardians looked distinctly impressed, and Thor’s grin grew impossibly wider. Thor reached for Tony and hugged him in an unusually careful hug. 

“I thank thee, my friends, for thy thoughtful gift,” He bellowed though, half deafening Tony as his ear was right next to Thor’s head. As he was put down, Tony stumbled backwards, falling against a large present. As soon as he touched it, however, the damn thing exploded. 

The next thing Tony knew was that he was encased in a slightly opaque bubble, floating eight feet above the ground. He woke up slowly, feeling warm and sleepy, before he woke up enough to hear the shouts all around him, mostly muffled due to the bubble. As he became more and more aware, he could feel this gentle warmth cradling him, keeping all of the pain his body was in at bay. The noise increased as the people could see that he was waking up, but the warmth made it so very hard to stay awake and aware. 

Thor, Steve, and the rest of the Avengers were standing below him, yelling his name, trying to find out if he was okay. Tony tapped at the bubble, and it reluctantly sank, inching its way towards the floor. As he descended, Tony inspected himself. He had burns all over his arms, legs, and chest, thankfully missing his hands and face. He shuddered to think how it would have scarred his hands. As soon as he reached the ground, the bubble started to fade away, but the mist only disappeared after doing a peculiar thing; it condensed enough that it was able to touch him, and formed a vague figure of a woman. 

She-it, god, pronouns are of no use here, draped her arms around Tony gently, almost lovingly, touching his face, numbing the pain where it started to return. He looked from the spirit to his skin, finding that where the mist touched, he healed. His face and hands received touches, as well as his chest, and disconcertingly enough the mist also reached through him, presumably healing his major organs. She hovered over the arc reactor, before reluctantly leaving it, almost as if she wished she could heal his heart but knowing she was unable to. After a time, she put her face close to his, kissed his forehead and said/not said, 

”I love you, my little Einstein, and I am so, so proud of you.” My little- no. The only one that called him that was his mother, and she was long, long dead. Tony jerked back to look properly at the lady, and got the sense somehow that she was smiling at him. As the mist lady disappeared, and Tony realized the hall was in utter silence. 

Tony looked to Thor and Steve, who were standing in front of him. Thor was holding Steve back uselessly, as the soldier stopped struggling to stare at Tony. Tony swallowed, and said hoarsely, 

“What just happened?” Frigga was the only one to approach him, and she approached him slowly, as if he were a deer ready to flee from the slightest sound. Thor tried to stop her, but she brushed him off and continued to walk towards Tony. Tony furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why everyone was acting so damn weird. She touched her hand to his head, and said, 

“Sleep.” His eyes rolled up into his head, and Steve broke out of Thor’s grip as Tony fainted, yelling his name, 

“Tony!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony learns the truth as the Asgardians know it, and he so doesn't want a kingdom.

And that’s how Tony ended up in the Healing Hall. Hall of Healing. Whatever.

“My father and mother were the personifications of Midgard and Asgard? Do you know how implausible that is? And how do you know for sure?” demanded Tony as he lay on the hospital bed. It was always the hospital beds, wasn’t it? Tony hated hospitals. He hated hospitals with a passion that he only usually reserved for his inventions. He had woken up from his forced sleep to find the team hovering over him, and himself with bandages only on his arms, when he distinctly remembered burning himself due to that stupid present. 

“Apparently, it’s the only thing that makes sense,” said Jan as she flittered around the room. She continued, “And the realm of Asgard is sentient, and Odin just now realized it.” 

“Where is Thor, by the way? I thought the big guy would be here too, freaking out like the rest of us.” 

“Odin called him away to have a little chat with him,” answered Steve, absently wiping at his shield with a gloved hand. Tony tried to get up from the bed, but was quickly disabused from that idea as multiple pairs of hands gently shoved him back down. 

“Oh no you don’t,” warned Clint from his perch on a bed post as he pointed an arrow in Tony’s direction, “You are not getting up, and if I have to shoot you to keep you still, I swear to God I will!” Natasha snorted, and remarked, 

“You do realize you just rhymed, Robin?” Clint grimaced but held his position. He could handle the ‘songbird’ jokes just this once, it seemed. Tony raised an eyebrow and replied, 

“Shooting me isn’t going to make me want to stay in bed longer, you realize that, right?” Before Clint could snark back, Jan hovered in front of Tony’s nose, making him go cross-eyed. 

“You will stay in bed until the doctor’s say that you can leave!” she scolded, poking a finger at him. Tony sighed, and relented, settling back down against the pillows. Tony grimaced and surveyed his team. Jan was flittering about the room anxiously, and Clint was still pointing his goddamn arrows at him. Natasha was sitting on a chair to Tony’s left, scrutinizing her nails while Steve sat to Tony’s right, polishing his shield. Bruce was talking to the healer, evidently interested in Asgardian healing techniques while Thor was nowhere to be seen. 

Suddenly, the doors to the hospital/healing hall were thrown open to reveal Odin, Frigga and Thor as they walked in. Tony narrowed his eyes at the trio; he could tell that nothing good was about to happen. 

“Anthony Stark, son of Maria Stark and Howard Stark. Do you know what you are?” said Odin as he stood in an intimidating manner at the foot of Tony’s bed. 

“I would appreciate an explanation on why you all think I’m half Asgardian,” Tony said, the enforced bed rest making him increasingly irritable. Odin ignored the blatantly disrespectful tone and answered Tony’s question. 

“We know you are of our bloodline, because when we cast the Heritage spell on your blood, your blood was directly connected to mine; you are, in essence, my brother. A very young brother, but my brother none the less.” There was a dead silence after Odin spoke those words; not a single person made a sound, and the only two other than Odin who did not look surprised were Thor and Frigga, with Thor looking strangely apprehensive and Frigga smiling gently. Tony looked at each of them, scrutinizing their faces before saying, 

“You have got to be kidding me.” 

“We kid you not, Man of Iron,” replied Thor gravely, his voice only slightly softer than his usual bellow. 

“But his blood- he had to have shown some type of alien or at least non-human genetic material when he was tested for such things wouldn’t he? We should have been able to find out!” said Bruce, eyebrows furrowing, “There is no way you can hide DNA.” 

“We believe that on Midgard, Anthony was completely mortal because he did not come into any contact with anything Asgardian; his heritage was dormant for as long as he was on Midgard. But then he came here, and his exposure to what essentially was his mother most likely jump-started his Asgardian blood,” said Frigga evenly. She then turned to Tony, watching him with kind eyes, and asked him, “Have you been feeling much healthier when you came here, young Anthony? Like you suddenly had more energy, slept better, and generally just felt better when you were here?” 

Tony grimaced and nodded. He had thought that his sudden increase in his well-being was because he took an actual vacation for once. 

“So what do we do now?” asked Tony. Odin sighed, and said, 

“You are a prince of Asgard despite your human blood; you are welcome here, and it is also your right to go back to Midgard if you so desire. You must also know that your blood makes you the second in line to the throne after me, should I die.” Tony stared at the alien-god, his mind boggled. Finally he connected the dots. 

“You think I want a kingdom? And an alien kingdom at that?” Tony yelped in alarm, “I can barely take care of my own company! Sorry, but no way am I taking the throne away from you or Thor.” And, yep, seems like that was what was worrying the heck out of Odin and Thor. Thor relaxed back into his default super-friendly smile, sparkling white teeth and all. “Thor, buddy, what kind of man do you take me for? You’ve seen what I am in Midgard; I would never take away your birthright! I have enough of a headache running Stark Industries.” 

“Verily, Man of Iron, your power in Midgard is formidable,” said Thor cheerfully, “Forgive me for doubting you, my friend.” Tony flapped his hand dismissively, before shooting a glare at the healers, who glared right back. 

“So when can I get out of here?” 

“If you have the energy to glare and berate us, then you are fit to leave,” sniffed a Healer as she passed by. She and the other healers had apparently run out of patience long ago for one Tony Stark. And Tony was fine with that. He hated hospitals anyways. 

“Great!” he said brightly, “So I can get my stuff now, right?” Jan rolled her eyes as Steve sighed exasperatedly. Tony knew that he was the worst patient out of all of the Avengers, and was completely unrepentant in utilizing his “worst patient ever” tactics. 

Steve was gracious enough to get Tony’s duffel bag and his Ironman suitcase, while Tony used a pair of crutches to get out of the Hall of Healing. Tony refused the crutches at first, but when he saw Natasha polishing a gun and eyeballing him, as if threatening to give him a real reason to need crutches, Tony relented. 

“We lost a couple of days when you were injured,” said Steve as they walked towards the Bifrost, “But the Fantastic Four and the X-men were able to handle any super villains if they cropped up. Thankfully, it was only a few banks that had attempted robberies; the Fantastic Four took care of those easily.” 

They finally reached the Bifrost, though it felt like it took forever to reach the Rainbow Bridge. The crutches weren’t helping any, so he gave up on them halfway there and just kept walking. Steve gave him a disapproving glare, but Tony just brushed it off; 

Steve wasn’t his mother, and though he was team leader, he couldn’t tell him what to do outside the suit. 

Tony froze, before breathing deeply. He looked side to side at his team mates, before saying, 

“Well, Mom? Aren’t you going to say ‘Goodbye’?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony Meets his Mother At Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know, this is horribly late, and took too long. But I do have a life outside of fanfiction, and I need to live it sometimes! :P This is unbetaed, so any mistakes are mine, and feel free to point them out!

After Tony said those words, the Bifrost trembled to hard that the shock waves nearly threw the Avengers and the Aesir to the ground. Once they finally managed to get up on their feet again, what they saw stopped them in their tracks. In front of them stood Maria Stark, dressed in traditional Aesir clothes. She was smiling warmly at the Avengers, watching Tony in particular. Tony was the only one of them that managed to keep his balance, even with his weakness from the bomb.  

“Dearheart, you only had to ask. The rights of a mother to her child are inviolate, so long as the child is the one to ask,” Maria Stark said warmly, her hands clasped loosely in front of her. She reached out to Tony, enveloping him in a warm hug as Avenger and Aesir alike goggled at the sight. Tony stood in her embrace, awkwardly trying to figure out how to hug his mother.

“Hi, Mom,” he says weakly, finally placing his arms securely around her waist and squeezing back. She stroked his hair gently, and just kept hugging him until he finally grew aware of the sheer number of people gawking at them. Tony cleared his throat, and disentangled himself from Maria. He somehow wasn’t able extricate his hands from hers, but he was completely fine with that.

“So,” Tony started, questions bursting into his mind that required immediate action and answers, “How’re you human? How’d you meet Dad? Why haven’t you contacted me, are my relatives really my relatives, and what am I-” Tony was interrupted by Maria, who put a finger to his lips, shushing him gently.

Her blue eyes shone as she said, “Dear heart, if you keep asking questions, when will I get the room to answer any of them?” Tony blinked and laughed quietly, recognizing the fact that he was acting just as he did when he was a child. Maria threw him an amused look, before saying, “Now, to answer those rapid-fire questions, I am _Aesir_ , not human or Midgardian- you got that blood from your father. As Midgard and Asgard, we’re connected most easily through the Rainbow Bridge, the Bifrost, our First, but we are also connected through other paths between the Nine Realms. We had always known of each other, but then we got bored. Really, really bored. Asgard does not change much over the centuries, but I had thought Midgard’s people to be fascinating. And though Midgard has such a short attention span, they are brilliant, and proposed that the two of us wear the skin of the people who reside on us, and well. He assumed the form of Howard Stark and he fell in love. And I didn’t give a fuck, because I was too busy exploring and experimenting.” Tony furrowed his eyebrows before laughing uproariously; he finally figured out where he got his foul mouth from. Tony lifted one hand to thread his fingers through her black curls. Maria smiled at the laughter; it was one of the most beautiful sounds she has heard in ages. She continued, needing to get the full story out to her son,

“However, Howard wasn’t the best of Midgardians in temperament or personality; he was impatient and prideful, but he was one of the most brilliant men of his generation. I was the only one who could put up with him for any length of time. He was a brat. A genius brat, but a brat all the same. We lived our own lives, and I was content, if not happy. But then, you came into the picture.” She cupped Tony’s face reassuringly, eyes gentle and soft. She kept speaking,

 “After you were born, I had someone to live for. You were the light of my life, the moment I saw your face. Howard, unfortunately, was still mourning the loss of his greatest friend and citizen, and didn’t recover from that loss. He didn’t treat you as he should have, and I am sorry for not doing more to help, my little Einstein. But you were loved, Anthony Edward Stark, from the moment you were born. Also, yes, your relatives are your relatives; you're related to them on your Father's side, so you're not rid of them that easily.” Long moments passed as mother and son watched each other, learning each other’s faces and movements, communicating without speaking.

“You are Asgard, ma'am?” ventured Steve, coming from behind Tony, stopping a few feet away from them. Maria turned towards Steve, and then the rest of the group of beings who were standing there awkwardly.

“As you heard, I am Asgard- I am the personification of this realm, just as Howard Stark was the personification of Midgard. I Claim Anthony Edward Stark as my son, second born of Midgard and Asgard, younger brother to the Rainbow Bridge, Bifrost,” She announced grandly, head held high. She wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulder almost protectively, before squeezing once and letting go. She kissed him one last time on the forehead and reminded them, “You will always be welcome here, my son. However, it is time for you all to leave, is it not?” Tony backpedaled quickly, grabbing Maria’s arm before she could turn away.

“Wait a sec, Mom, the Bifrost’s my sister?” 

Maria blinked, and laughed nervously. “I believe she did not recognize you when you first traveled by her because you weren’t quite Awake yet,” she assured him, “She will recognize you this time, and I daresay she wishes to have a little chat with you. Now off with you! You have to go back,” Maria said, making shooing motions towards the Bifrost, and the Avengers found themselves bodily shoved towards the Gate by some invisible force. As they left, she blew one last kiss to Tony as he disappeared into the Bifrost, before pulling a disappearing act herself. Odin sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. The next few years were going to be interesting.


End file.
